There are currently 147 active fires – more than 100 of them lightning caused – and 10 major “fires of note.”

More than 130 firefighters continue to battle the newest major wildfire at Wood Lake north of Harrison Hot Springs. That aggressive fire has grown from just a few hectares to more than 650 hectares in just four days.

So far this year, B.C. has had 1,418 wildfires, an estimated 282,000 hectares has burned and firefighting costs are currently pegged at $180 million.

The area burned is already more than four times worse than the average of 63,000 hectares over the past 10 years.

And 2015 appears certain to go down as one of the worst wildfire years in B.C. of all time. (See interactive charts below.)

Approximately 30 per cent of fires so far have been caused by people – due to everything from thrown cigarettes and improperly extinguished campfires to industrial activities and vehicles igniting vegetation.

As firefighters from Ontario and Australia prepare to go home, a group of 25 firefighters from South Africa are heading for B.C. to assist and train with crews still busy with 140 fires.

Forests Minister Steve Thomson said Tuesday the South Africans will be paired with B.C. firefighters to continue training to internationals standards, as they were doing in Alberta. About 150 other visiting firefighters, mostly from Ontario and Australia, are expected to have headed home by Aug. 11.

Thomson said there were 31 new fire starts over the B.C. Day long weekend, 13 of them human caused. That includes the Wood Lake fire near Harrison Lake.

A high pressure ridge is to rebuild by Thursday, bringing more temperatures in the upper 20s by Friday.

According to the BC Wildfire Service as of Sunday evening, a forest fire west of Harrison Lake has grown to 45 hectares in size. Wind has helped spread the “aggressively burning ground fire,” according to the provincial authority.

A few new fires on Thursday brought B.C.’s total number of wildfire to 1,360 fires in 2015, burning an estimated 276,000 hectares for a total cost over $167 million.

That’s up from last year, when there were 799 wildfires from April 1 to July 31, 2015, which burned 186,000 hectares.

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Hot, dry weather on weekend, winds could whip up fires

Much of B.C. is heading back into parched, dry conditions that threaten to spark a surge in forest fire activity.

An animated map (see below) of the fire danger maps posted since July 1 graphically shows how the risk of fires has declined since record hot temperatures in early July, but is on the increase again.

Hot, dry conditions are returning after sporadic rain last weekend, and that could be worsened by strong winds expected in some areas over the B.C. Day long weekend, B.C. fire information officer Kevin Skrepnek said Thursday.

“That could cause some pretty rapid fire growth if we see fires starting,” he said. “We have to anticipate fire activity is going to ramp up across the province.”

Skrepnek urged the public to be extremely cautious.

“When it’s this dry the heat coming off an exhaust pipe can potentially start a fire if you’re idling near tall grass,” he said.

August is historically the driest month with the most wildfire activity.

An ‘evacuation alert’ for Bolean Lake and Chase-Falkland Road has been rescinded:

Residents in an area near Falkland are being told that the risk from a wildfire is over…

“The B.C. Wildfire Service reports that favourable weather conditions have led to a significant decrease in fire behaviour at the Bolean Lake wildfire,” said Cliff Doherty, with the Shusap Emergency Program.

“This cooling trend, along with increasing containment levels, has considerably lowered the risk to nearby structures.”